Kevin Nolan's Match Report: Charlton Athletic v Ipswich Town (26/12/2012)

Kevin Nolan’s Match Report is brought to you in association with , 294 Burnt Ash Hill, London, SE12 0QD.

Charlton 1 (Haynes 73, pen) Ipswich Town 2 (Campbell 35, Murphy 45).

Kevin Nolan reports from The Valley.

Charlton’s nosedive into the bottom half of the Championship table continued with this dispiriting defeat by Ipswich Town at a soggy Valley on Boxing Day. Unrecognisable as the shambolic side beaten comfortably by the Addicks in September at Portman Road, the Tractor Boys could afford to miss a first half penalty on their way to securing three precious points. Under new boss Mick McCarthy’s old school eye, they are a vastly different proposition to the demoralised crew former manager Paul Jewell left in his wake when fired recently.

Having brought this latest setback on themselves with chaotic defending, it’s also difficult to see where Charlton’s next goal from open play, much less a badly needed victory, will come from. A second half penalty efficiently converted by Danny Haynes ended their recent scoring drought, gave them brief hope but merely papered over cracks in their finishing. Not that the problems lie exclusively with the strikers.

A midfield ostensibly strengthened by the return from suspension of Dale Stephens and boasting the Premier League pedigree of Emmanuel Frimpong gave Charlton an edge, on paper at least, over the more workaday names opposing them. Switching flanks regularly, Haynes’ pace was expected to cause trouble, while recalled winger Danny Green would supply forwards Rob Hulse and Ricardo Fuller with the ammunition of quality crosses. That was presumably the thinking but unfortunately practice failed to live up to theory.

Arsenal loanee Frimpong is a multi-gifted individual, with more strings to his bow than an undoubted talent for football. Only 20 years old, he dabbles in rap and fashion, preening sidelines hardly likely to endear him to Arsene Wenger; neither would they enchant the spade-is-a-spade sensibilities of McCarthy. But it’s a different world and they don’t make footballers like they used to.

Frimpong began his afternoon’s contribution with a perfectly judged but risky tackle on DJ Campbell inside the penalty area, which caused a quick intake of local breath, and was duly encouraged to repeat the feat moments later as Lee Martin was moving innocuously away from goal near the 18-yard line. This time his timing was awry, down tumbled Martin and the penalty was inevitable. Campbell blasted his spotkick woefully wide and the Addicks had been handed a massive confidence booster, one which they seemed at pains to squander.

Campbell wasted little time in making up for his miss. A move involving Martin’s graceful run and sharp low centre was briefly ruined by Carlos Edwards’ clumsiness but was retrieved beyond the far post by Daryl Murphy, whose ball back into the middle left Campbell the easy task of scoring Town’s opener.

Consistently prone to lapses of concentration on the ball, the elegant Stephens carries casualness to dangerous extremes on occasion as he did in first half added time, when carelessly conceding possession to Martin. Never exactly a hit while on loan to Charlton a couple of seasons ago, Martin capped an impressively downmarket impersonation of Cristiano Ronaldo by darting quickly forward to bring Ben Hamer sprawling full length to save his strongly hit drive. The convenient rebound was neatly clipped into the roof of the net by unmarked Daryl Murphy.

Stephens’ best moment was the expertly struck free kick, after Fuller was fouled by Aaron Cresswell, which beat goalkeeper Stephen Henderson but rebounded off the left post and frustratingly out of the onrushing Haynes’ reach. His undeniable promise helped him survive the half-time midfield cull which saw Frimpong give way to Johnnie Jackson and the anonymous Green, having squandered another opportunity to stake a claim to first team permanence, replaced by the more committed Bradley Pritchard.

Improvement was immediate and the visitors wavered. Fuller disastrously stole Hulse’s cross away from the better placed Jackson, before Hulse headed Chris Solly’s centre too close to Henderson. In reply, Martin’s clever chip drifted beyond Hamer but harmlessly cleared the bar but the Addicks had the wind in their sails. Henderson saved again from Hulse but the goal Charlton so desperately needed wasn’t long delayed.

Following orders to track an increasingly aggressive Solly, Martin pursued his quarry into Town’s penalty area, where the typically cavalier tackle of a forward upended the rampaging right back. Assuming penalty duties from an acquiescent Jackson, Haynes made uncomplicated work of converting the spotkick.

With sufficient time remaining, Charlton were able to create only one clearcut chance, which Hulse, turning on a loose ball, fired into the falling body of Henderson. Stephens volleyed a last gasp effort wide but the Suffolk deservedly men held out. And that safety margin of 50 points is suddenly not the easy task it seemed a few weeks ago. Don’t panic yet, though. We’ll let you know when.

Charlton: Hamer, Solly, Cort, Morrison, Seaborne, Green (Pritchard 46), Stephens, Frimpong (Jackson 46), Haynes, Hulse, Fuller (Kermorgant 82). Not used: Sullivan, Evina, Harriott, Dervite. Booked: Morrison.

Ipswich: Henderson, Chambers, Edwards, Drury (Reo-Coker 61), Orr, Martin, N’Daw, Cresswell, Smith, Murphy (Emmanuel-Thomas 90), Campbell (Hyam 87). Not used: Loach, Higginbotham, Chopra, Scotland.

Referee: Mick Russell. Att: 18,380.

Charlton fans united in an impeccably observed minute’s applause for club historian Colin Cameron before kick-off. Colin died on Christmas Eve after a blessedly brief illness. To say he will be missed is to risk grievous understatement. He had time for everyone and was loved by everyone, not least my wife Hazel and myself. I’m left with the teamsheets I fetched him from the recent Bolton Wanderers and Sheffield Wednesday games, neither of which dear old Colin needs now. I’ll hang on to them for old time’s sake. Just in case.
First John Yarnton, now Colin Cameron. The press room just ain’t the laugh it used to be. And, God knows, they were both a laugh. So long, fellas, it’s been good to know you.

Updated:

In the interests of accuracy, something dear to Colin’s heart, it is recorded that the great man died in the early hours of Christmas morning and not on Christmas Eve as previously reported. Sorry for the misinformation.